Thread lubricator



Dec. 8, 1931.

W. A. SCHUMANN ET AL THREAD LUBRICATOR Filed July 30, 1929 Patented Dec. 8, 1931 lNETE STATES PFA-TEN WILLIAM A. SCHUMANN AND JERRY M. HUGHES, F WATERIOWN, WISCONSIN rIYHREAD LUBRICATOR Application led July 30,

tor adapted to be attached to a sewing ma- Y chine of a conventional construction. Vhen shoes are being sewed, it often happens thatl the thread will break thereby making it'necessa-ry to rethread the machine and also causing a waste of thread in addition to loss of time. Attachments have been used by means of which a cake of soap may be supported inl such a position that the thread will bear against the soap in order to cause soap to be applied to the thread and lubricate the thread and make it tougher. This is only satisfactory for a short length of time as the thread soon wears the soap to such an extent that the soap is no longer properly applied tothe thread.

Therefore, one object of this invention is to provide an attachment whereby liquid soap may be applied to the thread and proper lubrication of the thread thereby assured.

Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment of this character in which the thread may be passed through a cup containing a pad of absorbent material, such as a sponge, saturated with liquid soap by means of which the thread is to be lubricated.

Another object of the invention is to so form the cup that the liquid soap with which the sponge in the cup is saturated will gravitate towards a thread passage in the bottom of the cup and thereby insure proper application of soap to the thread.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved means for supplying liquid soap to the cup and to allow flow of soap to the cup to be controlled.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a perspective view of a conventional form of sewing machine with the improved thread lubricator applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing the lubricator partially in vertical section and partially in elevation, Y

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional VView i929. seriai No. 382,226.

through the soap container taken on the line 4% ot Fig. 2.

VThis improved lubricator is intended tor use in connection with a sewing machine of j a conventional construction, and in Fig.' l' '5 5 there has been shown a sewing machine 'l of a type ordinarily used for sewing shoes. The lubricator is applied to the sewing niachine, as shown in this figure, include s a cup- Qsupported in such a posit-ion that the lthread 3 passes througn the cup before it reaches the needle and will have liquid soap applied to it. The cup El is formed of metal and includes a rear wall 1i, front wall and a end walls 6, one oi which is extenocd to torni 6B. an arin or bracket 7. This arm carries a boss 8 extending from its inner side face and through the boss is VJformed an opening 9 through Vhich Va fastener l0 may be passed in'order to secure the armV firmly against 'w the sewing machine with the cup supported in front olf the machine in such a position that the thread will pass downwardly through the cup. The'front wall has its lower portion curved rearwardly, as shown in YB; Fig. 2, to form a bottom ll for the cupand the bottom terminates in spaced relation to the rear wall thereby providing a passage l2, through which the thread passes. .lt should be' noted that the tree end et the bottoni is '80 rolled forwardly, as shown .at 13, thereby eliminating an edge against which the thread might bea-r and ibe worn through. Since the bottom of the cup, extends downwardly towards t1 wall, the cup tapers towards 85 ne rear the thread passage and, therefore, liquid soap with which the sponge or absorbent pad l2 is saturated will gravitate toward the thread passage and proper lubrication of the thread will be assured. f

The reservoir or receptacle lil lor the liquid vsoap consists ot a metal receptacle preferably of a cylindrical shape and having its upper portion threaded so that a cap l5 be securely but releasably held in place. rlhis receptacle is supported in a. vertical position by a bracket or arm 16 consisting ol' a strip of metal secured about the receptacle, as shown at 17, and projecting therefrom so that it may be irmly secured against the sewing machine by a fastener` 18 passed through an opening 19 near its free end. A tube 2O leads from the bottom of the receptacle 14 and terminates in a horizontal end portion 5 21 which extends transversely through the cup above the sponge or pad 12 and is formed with outlet openings 22 in its upper portion through which the liquid soap may escape and How down onto the sponge. By having 10 the openings formed in the upper portion of the tube there will be no danger of these openings becoming clogged by the sponge or by sediment which may gather in this portion of the tube. A valve 24 is provided intermedi- 15 ate the length of the tube so that the flow of liquid soap may be controlled. It will thus be seen that a small quantity of soap may be continually applied to the sponge or the valve normally left closed and only opened when necessary.

i lVhen this attachment is in use, it is applied to the sewing machine, as shown in Fig. 1, and the thread is passed through the. cup, as shown in Fig. 2. The valve is opened 3.5 in order to allow soap to flew onto the sponge and thoroughly saturate it and it may then be closed or left open sufficiently to allow a small quantity of soap to be continually fed to the sponge. The soap gravitates towards the bottom of the sponge and this assures proper application oi the soap to the thread. In view of the fact that the soap is liquid instead of a cake it will always be properly applied to the thread and even if the thread should wear the sponge this will not prevent the soap 'from being' applied to the thread. le have, therefore, provided a device by means of which liquid soap may be applied to the thread or" a sewing machine in order to properly lubricate it at all times.

Having thus described the invention, we claim:

A thread lubricator comprising a cup, a pad of absorbent material in said cup to be saturated with liquid absorbent, the said cup being open at its top and having a thread passage in its bottom, means to support the cup in an operative position, a container, means to support the container in place above the cup, a tube leading from the lower end of said container and having a portion extending horizontally into said cup above the pad and formed with outlet openings spaced from each other longitudinally of the said portion, and means to control low of lubricant through said tube.

In testimony whereof we afix our signatures.

JERRY M. HUGHES. L. s] 5 WILLIAM A. SCHUMANN. [L s] 

